[Rob07002]

Jody, I still think the home eq loan is the way to go as long as you don't mind using your house as collateral. Rates are around 5.5% - 6.5% depending witch bank, and you can finance over 15 years or so. You could also check out a home eq line of credit which is like a credit card being paid over 15 years. Rates are variable (which is a drwback IMO) but still a viable solution. Either one won't affect your first mortgage and as long as you don't plan on moving for awile won't hurt your investment in the house. Banks will lend 30 to 50 k without blinking an eye, and they don't care what your using the money for. Furthermore if rates drop sometime in the future you can refi both mortgages at the lower rate and maybe even slash a few years off the loan. Not sure how much your looking for but as long as you have equity built up in your house most places will do 80% (some higher) of the appraisal value minus the mortgage balance. So if your house appraised for 200k and you owe 100k you can take out 80K.